It’s holiday season! Which means decorations abound. And if you’re like us and feeling a little DIY this month, you’re in luck! New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries stopped by XOXOAD to share her top five tips on the best ways to use mistletoe, other than, you know, standing under it and waiting for your prince/duke/baron/earl to join you…

In my story, “The Heiress and the Hothead,” from What Happens Under the Mistletoe, my heroine and hero meet when he mistakes her for someone else and kisses her under the mistletoe. But mistletoe isn’t just for hallways. With its easy availability online and in local stores, you can use the festive plant to spice up your holiday in a variety of ways.

Add a sprig of it and a pretty red bow to a hair clip. Then you can have kisses wherever you go!

2. Adorn your winter hat with it. The white berries go perfectly with snow, right? And now you can bring the kissing outside.

3. Put it on your Christmas tree. Why not? Hey, if people can decorate their trees with bottle caps, there’s no reason you can’t use mistletoe on yours.

4. Use it as a bookmark. That way, if the clueless guy you’re interested in walks by, you can stop reading long enough to hold it over your head. And if he doesn’t take the hint, you still have a bookmark (and a book, always a plus).

5. Make a Regency-style kissing bough out of it, complete with ribbon, sprigs of holly and ivy, and even apples or oranges. Then you can both snack and It doesn’t get much better than that.

Just keep in mind that mistletoe is poisonous to both pets and humans, so no using it as a garnish in drinks, for example. But otherwise, the sky’s the limit, so have fun with it!

Return to the beloved Sinful Suitors series from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries in this delightfully sexy winter-themed novella! Stunned by the heat of an unexpected kiss on a cold winter’s eve, two strangers from vastly different worlds turn hotheaded principles into burning passion in Sabrina Jeffries’s charming yuletide story, The Heiress and the Hothead.

XOXO After Dark offers the best in romance, urban fantasy and women’s fiction. From free full-length books to contests to XXXO!’s scorching hot posts, we hope dedicated genre fans will find lots to do.